USSF, USL, and NASL agree on terms for 2010

A lot of readers have emailed me asking why I have not covered this whole USL-1 vs. NASL fiasco on the blog. Actually, there are a number of reasons. First, I try very hard to only post facts and not rumors. Until recently most of what was going around was just rumor or speculation. Plus.... there really wasn't any info to report. Yes, teams were jumping ship and heading to the NASL but specifics were not available. Much of what was going on was political banter so..... I did not know what to report. Lastly, and probably most importantly though... much of what was going on did NOT directly involve the City Islanders. Yes they are members of the USL but the battle being fought was in the USL first division. The second division was not really affected. Oddly enough, in my opinion and the opinion of many readers... the USL-2 is actually strong for 2010, especially as far as the quality of the teams go.

News I can report... the Western Mass Pioneers are moving to the PDL for 2010. The Bermuda Hogges are also headed to the PDL. Honestly, other than having a good rivalry with the Pioneers it won't break my heart to see them gone and you never know, maybe we could face them again in the U.S. Open Cup. The Hogges though... that is different I really liked seeing them come to City Island. Soccer is a global sport and playing a team from Bermuda added a neat international feel to the games. I will miss seeing them and I bet the team will miss the road to Bermuda also.

You can view it as good or bad but... another team shifting divisions is Crystal Palace Baltimore. They are one of our biggest rivals. We have had feuds on the field and even on the sidelines with them in the past. Well, those feuds may still happen but if they do it will take place in the pre-season or the U.S. Open Cup and not the regular season of USL-2 playoffs. They are moving to the USL-1/NASL. Again, we may still play them. Possibly coach Becher will schedule a pre-season match against them or a friendly during the season. We could also see them in the Open Cup, so it isn't our last time playing them but it just won't be as frequent.

The other big news... the Charleston Battery are moving to the second division! That is huge. It adds a lot of history and quality of play to the league. In the long run it is probably a bad thing for us because they will be VERY tough to beat but it will raise the talent pool on the field and will certainly bring some great soccer to City Island. Not saying Bill Becher and the team will roll over and let them beat us, that is not the case, but the bar has been raised in the USL-2. The second division will consist of Harrisburg, Charlotte, Richmond, Charleston, Real Maryland, and Pittsburgh. We will play 20 games. 10 at home and 10 away. We will play each team 4 times, 2 at home and 2 on the road.

As for the soap opera that is the USL-1 vs. NASL it has come to a temporary end... at least for 2010. The USSF stepped in and has set forth some terms that will allow both leagues to play while still under one USSF supervised umbrella. Basically you will have two conferences (the USL Conference and the NASL Conference). The USL Conference will include teams from Austin, Minnesota, Portland, Puerto Rico, Rochester and Tampa Bay. The NASL Conference will consist of teams from Baltimore, Carolina, Miami, Montreal, St. Louis and Vancouver. Both conferences will be governed by the USSF.

The team has another player combine set for the end of the month. After that, coach Becher will start building a potential training camp roster. As we speak the team is working on preparations for 2010 that involve the full USL-2 schedule (obviously this was delayed due to the USL being busy with the feud), player contracts, and none league exhibition matches. We could very well see another high powered team play our Isles Guys.

Hang in there City Islanders fans... the cold days of winter are ticking by... slowly but surely.

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